DERSHOWITZ
JOINS HIKIND IN CONDEMNING ‘BIGOTED BOYCOTT’ WHICH VIOLATES NEW YORK STATE
HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) called upon New York
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today to address a violation of New
York State’s Human Rights Law by the American Studies Association (ASA). On
December 16, the ASA—an association of American professors with nearly 5,000
members—voted to endorse an academic boycott of Israeli colleges and
universities, calling on American
schools and academic groups to ban collaboration with Israeli institutions. Renowned
legal expert Professor Alan M. Dershowitz joined Hikind in condemning the ASA’s
bigoted boycott.

“This
action by the ASA is a flagrant violation of New York State’s Human Rights Law,”
said Assemblyman Hikind in a letter to Schneiderman, citing section Executive
Law Article 15, 296.13, which addresses unlawful discriminatory practices. “This
flagrant act of discrimination on the part of the ASA singles out only one of the 192 member nations of the
United Nations. It seems clear that it does so not because of Israel’s U.N.-condemned
disputes with its geographical neighbors, as such disputes are common. Moreover,
Curtis Marez, the group’s president and an associate professor of ethnic
studies at the University of California, admitted to the New York Times
that ‘many nations, including Israel’s neighbors, are generally judged to have
human rights records that are worse than Israel’s.’ Syria’s use of chemical
weapons against its own citizens, including children, was condemned by all.

“So
why did the ASA single out Israel for a boycott? Because Israel is the Jewish nation,” said Assemblyman Hikind.

“Academic
freedom is destroyed by academic boycotts,” added Professor Dershowitz, “and the
academic boycott against Israel is particularly bigoted because Israel has more
academic freedom for all its citizens—Jewish, Christian, Muslim—than almost any other country in the world.”

New
York State Executive Law Article 15, 296.13, states: “It shall be an unlawful
discriminatory practice (i) for any person to boycott or blacklist, or refuse
to buy from, sell to or trade with, or otherwise discriminate against any
person, because of the race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation,
military status, sex, or disability of such person, or of such person’s
partners, members, stockholders, directors, officers, managers,
superintendents, agents, employees, business associates, suppliers or
customers, or (ii) for any person willfully to do any act or refrain from doing
any act which enables such person to take such action.”

“Boycotting
Israel and Israelis—many of which hold dual citizenship with the United
States, and many of which are New York residents—punishes scholars simply
because of their nationality,” said Hikind. “If that'snot a violation of the Human Rights law, what
is?”